Tennessee receivers struggling to beat press coverage, keep shoes tied

From the practice reports, it appears that one of the biggest challenge for the wide receivers right now, apart from the depth issues created by several injuries to experienced players, is beating press coverage. Nu'Keese Richardson was apparently the primary target of the coaches' animated criticism for the failure to do so. Still, Richardson wasn't just down, but up and down, which is what you'd expect from a true freshman regardless of hype. Most importantly, he responded correctly to the coaching staff, according to Gerald Jones. "Nu'Keese started out a little slow, then Coach [Wilson] got onto him and I saw him drop his head. I didn't say nothing to him because I wanted to see how he'd respond. The next three plays he ran great routes and made great plays."

Depth and press coverage aren't the only challenges, though. Others include keeping Brandon Warren's shoestrings tied and him on the practice field despite some nagging injuries that you get the feeling Lane Kiffin think shouldn't be keeping Warren down. "It's always something with Brandon," Kiffin said. "We need to try to figure out a way with Brandon to make it through a practice. We’re having a hard time getting through 30 minutes with him, so we’ll see." Recall that Warren was one guy coaches had working in a numberless jersey in the spring, so keep your eye on him.

But the news isn't all negative. According to Jones, Marsalis Teague is some kind of impressive. "Marsalis Teague probably impressed me the most," said Jones. "He was in three different positions, so you can tell he had studied his playbook. And he made plays in all three positions."